WSJ's parent company Dow Jones defiant after Trump’s $10B Epstein lawsuit: 'We will vigorously defend it'
WASHINGTON, DC: Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal’s parent company owned by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, dared President Donald Trump to bring it on after the POTUS announced a $10 billion libel lawsuit against the publication.
Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its reporters who wrote the article about the alleged "birthday letter" given by the POTUS to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.
WSJ parent company Dow Jones dares Donald Trump to bring on the fight amid $10 billion lawsuit
A spokesperson for Dow Jones said in a statement, "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting. [We] will vigorously defend against any lawsuit."
Donald Trump filed the lawsuit on Friday, July 18, accusing the Wall Street Journal of "glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting," as they published a story about a gift Trump supposedly gave Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday.
The article by WSJ detailed letters given to the convicted sex trafficker for his 50th birthday, which reportedly had a signed note from the president inside a drawing of a naked woman.
Moreover, the outlet reported that the note contained the phrase "may every day be another wonderful secret."
Following this, Trump slammed the newspaper and wrote on social media, "Those are not my words. Also, I don’t draw pictures."
However, the publication rebutted Trump's claim and highlighted several images drawn by the POTUS.
In his social media post, Trump claimed that Murdoch had been personally warned not to print the letter, but he "did not have the power to do so".
Trump also promised to "sue his a** off."
Claims made by Donald Trump's legal team in $10 billion lawsuit
President Donald Trump’s legal team accused the Wall Street Journal’s parent company of exhibiting “glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting" in the 18-page lawsuit filed in a federal court in Miami.
Moreover, the libel lawsuit highlights that the Wall Street Journal did not publish either the drawing or the letter it claims Trump authored, and argued this omission is because "no authentic letter or drawing exists."
Furthermore, Trump had threatened legal action almost immediately after the article by reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo was published on Thursday.
Both journalists are named as defendants in the case.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, "The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway. President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr Murdoch, shortly."
Interestingly, Trump’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein, who died in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on serious charges, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
Trump pledged during his 2024 campaign that he would consider releasing additional government records related to Epstein to satisfy demands from prominent right-wing figures who have long demanded transparency in the case.
However, a memo released by Trump’s own Justice Department in July stated that there is no evidence that Epstein maintained a so-called “client list” implicating powerful political or business leaders in sex crimes.
This disappointed many of Trump’s supporters, some of whom had expected bombshell disclosures.
Following the announcement, the backlash has contributed to growing tensions within Trump’s MAGA base, threatening to fracture his political coalition.
